Don't mention the 'B' word [Guin + Yao] [cont.]

It seemed very funny to her, that she would compliment him and he would deny it. She would have said something, insist more, because he did look good, but it struck her that this was most likely a cultural difference. She didn't know chinese, not apart from a few words and characters that were actually potion ingredients, but she wanted to learn, since China was famous for potions and she'd always wanted to work under a proper Chinese master. She had been once, but with a translator, and she remembered how different the culture was. Saying 'no' to a compliment was most likely one of those things and surely it would be rude to insist. She just smiled when he complimented her. "Thank you," She said politely, as she had been raised to. At least she didn't have to curtsey.

"I'm glad you like it. It'[s not much, I know, I got a friend in London to send it over." He seemed a lot happier now and it made Guinevere happy to see. Seemed like he was a little less depressed about the fact that it was his birthday.

She laughed. "Touché, touché. It does get a lot colder around here, it snows every year. But I've spent the last few years in the south of France, so I'm a bit spoiled." Hr explained. It was rather more cold then she was used to, loathe as she was to admit it. In her rooms she always had a fire lighted, and she was often around potions, so she was usually rather toasty. But the dress wasn't very warm and she hoped she wouldn't start shivering.

The walk to Hogsmeade was just as long as she remembered it, and even at her age, she was a little unnerved by walking through the forested paths in the dark. She moved a little closer to Yao, believing in safety in numbers, and clutched her purse, where her wand was.

"No, I really like him! You needn't have gone to so much trouble for me." he smiled, wondering if he'd ever mentioned to Guin (or any member of staff) explicitly how fond he was of pandas. He didn't really get it himself, but they'd always been his favourite animal, and he probably owned far too many panda themed items for a man of his age.

"Oh, that's right- you taught at Beauxbatons before, didn't you?" He vaguely remembered it coming up in her introduction at the beginning of the year. "The south of France sounds like a far more pleasant place to live. What brought you to rainy Scotland?"

Yao could see Guinevere tense slightly as they made their way through the forboding woods to Hogsmeade. He remembered being wary of the surrounding forests and countryside when he first arrived too- such a quiet place, with so few people and such an abundance of nature was nothing like the city life he'd been used to in Beijing and London. But ten years here had taken the fear away from the place. There were dangerous things out there, he knew, and some of them he couldn't defeat or outrun, but he'd read and learned enough over the years to feel calmer in the face of these dangers. He might not have been able to use a wand, but he had his own spells and incantations, and pouches of various herbs and concoctions on his belt he could use. He wasn't totally useless. That said, the chances of anything remotely dangerous coming at them were incredibly low, he believed, and he was sure Guinevere's magic was enough to defend them if it came to it. All the same, he tried to walk tall, back straight, shoulders back, trying to appear confident and unafraid, as if his own appearance of fearlessness might be of some comfort, though he very much doubted it.

She shook her head modesly and smiled at him. He was very sweet and excitable, at least about the panda. She liked it better than his moping about earlier. She should buy him more panda themed items if this was how he reacted. She thought pandas were quite cute as well, but she rather prefered tradition teddy bears, since it was what she had grown up with.

Guinevere nodded, her hair bouncing in its curls around her head. "Yes, the south of France is very agreable. But I left my job because I didn't like the staff, and I only speak English, French and a tiny bit of Italian and German. So work is going spare for teachers. You're Chinese, I'm assuming." She said, she knew he was, but she didn't want to sound too presumptious, "Chinese potions are fasicnating, I want to study there." She gushed, hoping he would be receptive. Hopefully he would know something about the Chinese potion culture, but she didn't pin her hopes on it.

They walked quickly enough through the woods and in to the village. It was mostly empty, since it was a small villiage. However, she well knew that the Three Broomsticks would probably be bursting with life. She liked it there, one had a lot of privacy, since everyone was talking noisily. Nobody would be listening in so they could speak of most things.